Originally Posted by
onetrack
I read an article once where the thrust of the story was, a lot of American homes were wired up with electrical wiring that was aluminium.
The metal is prone to corrosion at the best of times, but with the 110V standard, American wiring carries a higher amperage for a given wattage, thus increasing the heat load on the wiring.
The article spoke of numerous house fires in America that were caused by corroded aluminium wiring at connections, aided by the larger variation in the heating and cooling cycles of the wiring, as compared to the higher voltage countries.
CarsonDunlop.com - Home inspector training - the true story behind aluminum wiring in the U.S.
This was a HUGE problem in the manufactured housing industry back in the 1960s and 1970s.
There are specific outlets and switches which must be used with Al wiring. Corrosion is one problem, coefficient of expansion is another.
Al expands and contracts more than brass or copper. It will actually stretch the terminal screws over time, loosening the connection and creating resistance.
I don't think you can do a new build with Al wire anymore, and I think if an electrician runs into it during repair work, the home owner is probably in for a spendy surprise.
But, yeah, there have been lots of fires. A friend of mine lost her daughter two years ago to a house fire caused by someone using Al wire in the attic to repair a run of old wire that had been eaten by squirrels. A hundred year old farm house, dry as tinder upstairs.
Bad stuff, that electricity, if you don't respect it.